Why South America Has So Many Countries: The Criollo Revolutions Part 2

Central and South America are home to many small island nations that are unfamiliar to most people. Among these, the stories of Guyana (formerly a British colony), Suriname (formerly a Dutch colony), and French Guiana (which remains a French territory) are particularly fascinating.

When Simón Bolívar and San Martín launched their coups and independence movements across South America, these three countries remained quiet. They had little cause for complaint against their mother countries, so there was no need to discuss independence.

The Independence of Guyana and Suriname

Guyana was a British territory, but after World War I and World War II, the global spread of the principle of national self-determination and the colonial independence movement forced Britain to reluctantly grant independence.

Suriname, on the other hand, did not achieve independence until 1975. Originally a Dutch territory, this region was rich in bauxite, the raw material for aluminum, making it a “golden territory” for the Netherlands. From the mid-1800s, large numbers of Indian and Chinese laborers were brought in to mine bauxite cheaply. Despite Suriname being a Dutch colony and territory, the Surinamese parliament even had Chinese and Indian political parties.

The oil shocks of the 1970s and 1980s, which caused oil prices to skyrocket and damaged the global economy, made it difficult for the Netherlands to manage Suriname. Additionally, the increase in Chinese and Indian populations intensified conflicts with the indigenous Surinamese people. Eventually, Dutch settlers and indigenous Surinamese joined forces to drive out the Chinese and Indians, leading to independence in 1975.

French Guiana: Still French Territory

However, French Guiana remains a French territory and has not achieved independence. With a population of 290,000 and an unemployment rate in the 20% range, its economic foundation is very fragile. Most of its GDP depends on tourism, and survival is impossible without subsidies from mainland France. Despite demands for independence, they cling to France, saying “If you cut off the subsidies, we’re finished!”

Additionally, this territory houses the Guiana Space Centre (CSG), a French aerospace facility that accounts for 25% of Guiana’s total GDP. Because they receive enormous satellite subsidies every time a satellite is launched, it remains “useful land” for France.

Fascinating Cases of South American Independence: Brazil and Mexico

Among South American countries, Brazil has the most interesting independence process. Brazil was a Portuguese colony.

Role Reversal: Brazil’s Independence

During the 19th century Napoleonic Wars, when France conquered Spain and was about to conquer Portugal, the Portuguese royal court simply moved from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Even when Napoleon was defeated in 1815, it remained the Kingdom of Brazil-Portugal, with Portugal actually relocating its capital to make Rio de Janeiro the capital of the Kingdom of Brazil-Portugal. It was truly a case of role reversal.

As I explained about how the Creoles in South America were discriminated against, when the capital moved to Rio de Janeiro, treatment of the Creoles began to improve. However, conditions in mainland Portugal deteriorated, leading to a major event: a liberal revolution in Lisbon.

News came that coup forces and independence forces in Lisbon were staging a liberal revolution, demanding the emperor step down, since everything including the capital had been moved to Brazil. Emperor João VI, to put out the urgent fire, crossed from Rio de Janeiro to mainland Lisbon for negotiations. At this time, he left his son Pedro I in charge of Brazilian administration before departing. Thus, the Kingdom of Brazil-Portugal became a constitutional monarchy with actual politics conducted by parliament, and the capital moved back from Rio de Janeiro to Lisbon.

However, the Creoles in the Kingdom of Brazil-Portugal, whose treatment had improved, feared that their vested interests would disappear if the capital returned to Lisbon. The Creoles approached Pedro I (the crown prince) and proposed a big deal: become the king of Brazil. Eventually, Portugal (father João VI) and Brazil (son Pedro I) split apart, and in 1822, Pedro I declared Brazil’s independence, beginning constitutional monarchy.

A Series of Coups: The Birth of Mexico

The nation of Mexico also came into being quite suddenly. Like other South American countries where nobles staged coups and gained independence during the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815) to protect their vested interests, Mexico also achieved independence to draw a line before the Spanish mainland was occupied by Napoleon.

However, since the Spanish mainland was almost completely occupied by Napoleon, the Spanish colonial regions in Mexico were briefly under Napoleonic influence. When Napoleon was defeated and exiled in 1815, Mexico returned to being a Spanish colony. But during the Napoleonic Wars, conditions in the mainland were poor and the economy deteriorated, leaving the Mexican region effectively unmanaged by mainland Spain.

The Mexican region was very enthusiastic about coups. Moreover, the United States above Mexico was a “fresh nation” that had just emerged after buying Louisiana from France cheaply in 1803 and purchasing Florida in 1819, and Mexico had witnessed the American independence process right before their eyes.

Mainland Spain also sensed that a coup was brewing in Mexico and replaced all high-ranking colonial officials, officers, soldiers, and civil servants with Peninsulares (those born in mainland Spain). Knowing full well that the Creoles were the force that would stage coups, they replaced them with patriotic Peninsulares. However, this preemptive replacement of Creoles with Peninsulares to suppress them actually further incited Creole independence.

※ In modern South America, ‘Criollo’ is sometimes used to refer to mixed-race populations.

Thus, Mexico was born from Creole coups. Not just Mexico, but the Mexican Empire was born. Ultimately, the countries on the American continent were nations that achieved independence through successful coups staged by noble families, wealthy individuals, businesspeople, and politicians among European immigrants who had crossed from the European mainland, inciting immigrant forces and indigenous forces.

Looking at the process of the Mexican Empire below, you can see that coups continued to occur, with kings ruling, then emperors ruling, then more coups happening, and emperors staging coups to rule again.

Initially, Mexico occupied almost all of Central America and even all of the southwestern United States. However, continuous coups prevented proper internal management, and countries began breaking away.

Above Mexico was the United States, a “fresh nation” that had just emerged after buying Louisiana from France cheaply in 1803 and purchasing Florida in 1819, and it shared a border with Mexico, which couldn’t maintain internal order.

As tends to happen when territories are adjacent, Mexico and the United States fought fiercely. During this conflict, the Republic of Texas, which is now a U.S. state, was born.